Hirono, Hawaii Delegation Applaud $17.9 Million in Department of Energy Grants to Improve Renewable Energy Utilization and the Resilience of Hawaii Power Systems

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Ed Case (D-HI) applauded the news that the Department of Energy is awarding a combined $17.9 million in grants to the Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism. $1.7 million will go toward enabling high penetration renewables with Synchronous Condenser Conversion Technology and $16.3 million will go toward solar grid forming technology.

“As we work to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events, it’s important that communities across the islands are equipped with reliable, resilient energy infrastructure,” said Senator Hirono. “This funding will help strengthen the electrical grid in Hawaii and across the country, increasing access to affordable, renewable, and reliable electricity to better serve our communities.”

This funding, via the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, is part of a larger $3.5 billion in grants to 58 projects across 44 states to strengthen electric grid resilience and reliability across America. The GRIP Program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 by the Biden Adminstration, accelerates the deployment of transformative projects that will help to ensure the reliability of the power sector’s infrastructure, so that all communities have access to affordable, reliable, and clean electricity.

As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, Senator Hirono has championed legislation to protect Hawaii’s environment, fish, wildlife, and plants, while also working to support local farmers and agriculture, and speed the transition to clean, renewable energy in Hawaii and across the country. In September 2023, Senator Hirono introduced the AuGmenting Research and Educational Sites to Ensure Agriculture Remains Cutting-edge and Helpful (AG RESEARCH) Act, legislation to provide billions in funding to address deferred maintenance at U.S. schools of agriculture, including the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH CTAHR), and USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facilities. In July 2023, Senator Hirono joined her colleagues in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into Shell, ExxonMobil, and potentially other fossil fuel companies to determine whether their coordinated campaigns of climate change deception violated federal law. In May 2023, Senator Hirono introduced the Extinction Prevention Act, bicameral legislation to provide much-needed funding for some of the country’s most imperiled yet vastly underfunded wildlife species, including threatened and endangered North American butterflies, various Pacific Island plants, freshwater mussels, and Southwest desert fish.

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